RACECOURSES have been advising customers to buy their tickets online this week amid “unbelievably difficult circumstances.”

Yesterday’s meetings at Fairyhouse and Tramore were labelled as ticket-only while it’s the same for today’s Grade 1 meeting at Naas. Buying tickets online helps racecourses to gauge attendances and plan facilities in advance while it is also important for contact tracing and speeds up the admission process on the day.

Naas general manager Eamonn McEvoy said: “Racecourses are trying to plan and organise in unbelievably difficult circumstances so it would be a huge help that if you’re planning on going racing, buy your ticket online early, just to give them an idea on numbers. It’s just so difficult with staffing and everything, it’s a nightmare to be honest.”

Naas expects to have some tickets available this morning [Sunday] for online customers. McEvoy said: “You should be able to buy a ticket for this Sunday’s meeting on the morning, but only if there are enough tickets left. There is a cut-off point numbers-wise. So far we’re looking okay with regards to staff, thankfully.”

Racegoers are also being encouraged to take antigen tests before they come racing and to follow the basic guidelines on course, such as wearing a mask indoors.

Cash taken

Limerick interim manager Paddy Dunican reported the vast majority of their Christmas Festival customers bought tickets online but the course accommodated elderly customers who wished to pay at the gate and submit their contact tracing details there.

Dunican labelled the four-day meeting as an “overwhelming success” with a capacity crowd of 5,000 on St Stephen’s Day and a collective crowd over the following three days that was up on two years ago, the most recent pre-Covid figures.

“The Festival was an overwhelming success,” Dunican said. “Thankfully it all went to plan, and we had great crowds all through. There was a wonderful atmosphere across the four days. The feedback from everyone who attended was that they all had a very enjoyable experience at Limerick. All that positivity was wonderful to hear.

“It was very easy to handle the public here. They were compliant and people abided by regulations. We had a huge amount of young people here on St Stephen’s Day which is great for racing.”

Limerick set up a special marquee to check vaccine certs and identification, while they also reduced their indoor capacity to 50% by putting security personnel at the doors. In all the course invested €80,000 in its outdoor facilities.

“We only let people into the indoor facilities if there was a seat for them,” Dunican said. “And if you wanted to get a drink, you had to go back outside and queue as the Government rules say you can’t queue inside. We had six marquees outside.”

Outdoor facilities

It will be a similar situation at Naas today, a limit to the people allowed inside while outdoor facilities will be plentiful.

McEvoy said: “The cafe on the ground floor of the grandstand will be closed but we’ll have more outdoor catering available. That’s for everyone’s safety - the staff here and the elderly especially. We just want to cut down the indoor activity and we just want to encourage people to wear masks, encourage people not to come if you have symptoms.”